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Study finds home football games elevate cases of sexual assault
Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION
The occurance of heavily attended football games lead to a spike in alcohol consumption and sexual assaults, associate professor of economics, Jason Lindo’s research found.
A&M professor’s research indicates connection between football, alcohol and sexual violence By Anthony Pangonas @apangonas According to the Association of American Universities’ Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct, over 20 percent of female undergraduate students have been sexually assaulted. In a new research paper, Texas A&M professor Jason Lindo’s data looks to show the correlation between college football games and increased reports of sexual assaults. In his recently published online paper, “College Party Culture and Sexual Assault,” Lindo, an associate professor of economics, studied how Division I football games affect partying and drinking along with an increase of reported rapes on certain nights. Lindo said he knew there was a connection between alcohol consumption and sexual assault and wanted to look at events
that intensify the behavior to learn about the effects of the activity. “We wanted to quantify the degree to which events that intensify partying and alcohol consumption cause increases in reports of rape and to document what types of reports are affected the most,” Lindo said. “This is why we chose to investigate the effects of Division I football games. The events very clearly intensify partying and drinking on college campuses. So they provide an opportunity to learn about the causal effects of such activities.” Working with Peter Siminski, associate professor of economics at the University of Technology Sydney, and Isaac Swenson, assistant professor of economics at Montana State University, Lindo said the paper used information from the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to look at data from 96 different universities, not including A&M, on or around the time of a football game day. The data collected from the NIBRS is a voluntary-based program for universities and is collected by the FBI. “Our analysis draws upon hourly reports of rape to campus and local police departments serving students at schools
with Division I football programs over a 22-year-period [from 1991-2012],” Lindo said. “Using this data, we estimate the degree to which reports of rapes are elevated for game days over and above the number that might be expected based on the day of the week the game is played, usually Saturday, and over and above the elevated number that might be expected based on the time of year the game is played.” Lindo said the research found that football games increased the rate of reported sexual assault with 17-24 year old victims by 28 percent. On home game days, the effect is seen to increase by 41 percent and away game days; the effect is at 15 percent. “The effects are larger for schools with more prominent football teams and for relatively prominent games,” Lindo said. “Much of the effect is due to 17-24 year old offenders.” In regards to how these numbers correlate to A&M, Lindo said they are slightly more than what he would expect A&M to produce. “It’s important to keep in mind that the effects we estimate ASSAULT STUDY ON PG. 2
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Shiner Park will host five Texas A&M student bands on Friday, Feb. 2.
Latinx artists used recollections of their childhood to inspire their art.
Shiner Park student showcase
Visually delving into memories
Students take the stage, organize their own concert at Northgate
Hispanic artists display their works of art that invoke a sense of nostalgia
By Kenya Robinson @_KenyaJ
Madeline Ramos — THE BATTALION
By Kathryn Whitlock @Kathryn-whitloc8 Five modern Latinx artists visually narrate intimate memories of home through featured art. The exhibit, “Aún Recordamos Aquel Hogar,” or “We Still Remember What Was Once Home,” is located at the Wright Gallery of the Langford Architecture Center on the Texas A&M’s campus. “Aún Recordamos Aquel Hogar” will be available for viewing until Feb. 30 and is free for all audiences. According to curator Sean FitzGibbons, “Aún Recordamos Aquel Hogar” tells a story using location as one of the characters, similar to a metaphor. The five artists are from
South Texas and vary in style and execution. Featured in the exhibit are Albert Alvarez, Fernando Andrade, Ruth Buentello, Joe De La Cruz and Jenelle Esparza. Although they share cultural experiences, their individual stories vary in distinction. “I [have] put together a show of artists that I have worked with before,” FitzGibbons said. “Looking at their artwork, I drew a thesis statement together based on the similarities between their artwork. As a whole, the exhibit is captivating in that these artists have such specific backgrounds as shown, but as a group show [there are] a universality of common shared experiences that weren’t expected when you first walk into the show.” Seeing a suitable place for the artwork in College Station, A&M visualization lecturer Nathan Madrid worked with FitzGibbons to open an exhibit on campus and aided in the LATINX ART ON PG. 3
By mixing in a little psychedelic rock and adding a dash of punk-funk, five student bands from Texas A&M will introduce their ensembles to the nightlife of Northgate this weekend. Bringing a variety of music styles to College Station’s bar district, the Live from the Underground concert will feature performances by J.C. Juice, Chemical Bromance, YEEHA!, HYAH! and Bad Hombre on Friday, Feb. 2, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Shiner Park. The concert is free for ages 21 and up and $10 for those between the ages 18 to 20. Live from the Underground, a concert organized by students, plans to bring an alternative music experience to Northgate patrons, according to Jean-Claude Nnang, also known as J.C Juice, mechanical engineering senior. Nnang said he and William Roberts mechanical engineering senior, a member of
Bad Hombre and HYAH!, thought it would be a great idea to put on a big show to showcase their bands. “Essentially, the vision was trying to get these bands that have been working so hard for the past year or so, a bigger platform to express themselves,” Nnang said. “Bryan [Texas] is the music part. We’ve usually been at the Revolution or the Grand Stafford [Theater] so we wanted to get these bands on Northgate and sort of change up the scene at least for one night.” Matthew Cradit, general studies senior and member YEEHA!, said this concert will be a great opportunity for the bands to expand their audiences. Although the five bands are bringing a different sound to Shiner Park, Cradit said he is optimistic that the audience will dig the “danceable rock-funk” vibes of his band, YEEHA!. “Downtown Bryan is more like underground music, a lot of indie, metal, there’s a big poetry scene and some rappers performed CONCERT PREVIEW ON PG. 2
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ASSAULT STUDY CONTINUED represent an average across a large number of universities and colleges,” Lindo said. “The effects will be larger for some schools and smaller than others. Along these lines, we find that the effects are bigger for schools that have been listed as ‘party schools’ by the Princeton Review, and smaller, but still significant, for other schools. Based on that finding, I’d expect the effects to be smaller than average at A&M.” The research also shows how different types of game outcomes can influence the size of the effect, Lindo said. Outcomes like upset wins have the largest effect on alcohol offenses and the largest effects on sexual assault. “It seems when a team wins unexpectedly, fans celebrate more than usual,” Lindo said. “This is also accompanied by higher rates of sexual assault.” Lindo said that through this research they found that Division 1A football games cause an estimated 724 rapes of college-aged victims per year. This translates into five percent of fall semester rapes of college-aged victims in college areas. “Though we can only speculate, it seems likely that these results translate to related contexts, such as ‘rush week,’ spring break and other big sport events,” Lindo said. “There is evidence of drinking increases as a result of March Madness and similar effects likely exist outside the college realm.” Swenson said when going into this research, they knew of the earlier research that had gone on between alcohol consumption and sexual assaults and they wanted to establish a causal effect that drives these actions on college campuses. “We wanted to establish a more concrete
link between the partying and college culture and sexual assault,” Swenson said. “Does the degree of which football games intensify partying and alcohol consumption actually causes increases in reports of rape. We wanted to contribute to a literature that had established an association but hasn’t necessarily nailed down a causal link.” With the research, Swenson said he hopes administrators and individuals look at the results and seek way to decrease the spikes of rates of reported sexual assault that occur during football game days. “There are plenty of interventions that universities are trying out to combat this issue,” Swenson said. “As folks look at our analysis and results we document specific types of rape reports that escalate and that can hopefully be used in information campaigns to inform prevention efforts.” Lindo said the results of the study showed the importance of bystanders taking action when confronted with situations involving sexual assault. “These results don’t change the importance of bystander interventions, or other efforts to promote safety,” Lindo said. “They do suggest a need for greater awareness and stronger efforts around gamedays, and other events that intensify partying.” Daniel Pugh, vice president for Student Affairs, said Lindo’s study should be presented to students across campus, in an effort to combat sexual assault. “I would encourage student government, Greek letter organizations and others to invite Dr. Lindo to present his findings to groups of key student leaders who could then discuss his findings in relation to our own campus culture,” Pugh said. “I know some of our Student Affairs staff would welcome the opportunity
Graphic by Anthony Pangonas — THE BATTALION, numbers via study
Lindo’s research indicates an increase in sexual assaults on gamedays at home.
to be part of this presentation and participate in the discussion with student leaders.” According to the Green Dot Bystander Intervention Training Program, which teaches A&M faculty, staff and students to be aware of potential violence around them, there are a number of ways bystanders can help in situations involving sexual assault. Seeking profes-
sional help, providing victims with resources, speaking out against potential perpetrators, watching over friends when in a situation where sexual assault could happen and offering friends sober rides home are among the many actions that can be taken. Additional information about Green Dot can be found on their website.
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The performances will be free for anyone over 21 years old and will be $10 for anyone between the ages 18 to 20.
down there before,” Cradit said. “When I first moved here, I have this vivid memory driving down University and looking at Northgate thinking ‘Hmm, this is a weird place.’ I was kinda like ‘Man I’m never going to be playing there’ and now here we are.” Hoping to end his last semester at A&M on a good note, Chemical Bromance member Kevin Boone said he is excited to perform in front of a bigger audience this weekend. “We’ve only performed at ICON before, so Shiner will be a pretty big place for us to go,” Boone said. “Ravi [band member from Bad Hombre], he just texted me and was like ‘Hey we need a fifth band [to play].’ So I found out about it probably like a month ago. We just want everyone to have a lot of fun and we usually have a pretty good crowd and we want all of our friends to show up of course.” In order to perform at the venue for free, Nnang said he and the bands worked to get sponsors throughout the College Station area. After a few emails and lots of negotiation, Holleman Crossing, 2818 and Parkway Place, the Berkley House and The Hudson will be sponsoring “Live from the Underground” concert this weekend. Roberts said he is still in disbelief that they were finally able to put this together. “We are all friends, so everything is kind of intermingled,” Roberts said. “It’s also been the first show where we actually got to work on. It’s been very stressful putting it together, but I’m just excited to see it come to fruition.”
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LATINX ART CONTINUED brainstorming of ideas for the show. Both Madrid and FitzGibbons said they are hopeful this is relatable to every cultural background. “I have worked with all of the artists before in different shows and have known these artists for quite some time,” Madrid said. “For the college, this fits right in with the gallery’s mission statement: diversity and social inclusion. This show directly talks about that. I think it’s important for students to be exposed to this and to look at the work and try to ask a couple of tough questions that they wouldn’t get otherwise.” Buentello, a painter and San Antonio high school teacher, has worked with FitzGibbons in past exhibitions. Of all of the artwork involved, Buentello created four of them: The “Last Supper,” “Nah,” “Ama!” and two pieces entitled “Hiding en mis Colchas.” “I am inspired by family experiences and interior Latino intimate spaces, whether it’s inside the home or whether it is a psychological space,” Buentello said. “All of the paintings are photo references of my family, and I was very inspired to document the different interactions that I have with them — good or bad.” Buentello said she wants her artwork to connect viewers and provide a lens through which people can further understand her life. According to Buentello, despite people’s dissimilar backgrounds, her artwork can illuminate the ways in which commonality is still present. “I just want to present these images so that other people can have a more intimate view of Latino and Latina experiences,” Buentello said. “I hope that this exhibit conveys a sense of home and that it creates a broader sense of home for people that do or do not identify with the work and that it expands people’s ideas of what a Latina and Chicana home could be like.” Fernando Andrade, fascinated by Buentello’s “Last Supper,” drew nine of the pieces shown in the exhibit. Andrade was featured in a show that FitzGibbons curated in San Antonio in 2017. He said he brought a variety of contextually accurate pieces to this show. “Most of my work deals with social and political events,” Andrade said. “Some deal with border and cartel violence and other drawings deal with the gun culture here in the United States. I think that this will hopefully motivate people to continue to have their own voice. I think it’s important for students to realize that there’s not a linear path and that there’s not one way to get a point across. We all have a different perspective and our own experiences in life.”
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(Left to right) Hugh McElroy, Class of 1971, Stephen Ruth, Class of 1992 and Tanya Williams, Class of 1994, are all notable former students.
Celebrating Black History Month in Aggieland February: dedicated to the achievements of African-Americans throughout history By Taylor Fennell @TaylorPFennell
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In February of 1976, President Gerald Ford encouraged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” Since that time, Black History Month has been celebrated in the United States every February. Throughout the month, a number of African-American-centric organizations will be hosting events at Texas A&M with the purpose of teaching and celebrating the history and people of African ancestry. Here are five events you won’t want to miss.
Game Night On Feb. 6, the A&M chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) will host a trivia night in Rudder 402 at 7 p.m. The trivia will test players’ knowledge of black history and participants will be eligible for mystery prizes; The NAACP was founded in 1909 and arrived on the College Station campus in 1993. The organization’s purpose is “to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of minority groups” and “to promote diversity and cultural awareness at Texas A&M and surrounding community.”
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History of Texas The Center for Heritage Conservation will facilitate a lecture titled: “African American history in Texas: Context for preserving and conserving culture and place” on Feb. 16. The lecture will be in Geren Auditorium at Langford Architecture Building B at 6 p.m. The Center for Heritage Conservation conducts research that “promotes an awareness of historic preservation and conservation.”
Black Business On Feb. 20, Black Wall Street will present a lecture titled: “The Importance of Supporting Black Business,’ in Rudder 401 at 6 p.m. Black Wall Street is an organization that strives “to establish a community amongst young black collegians within Mays Business School.”
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Celebration of Black History On Feb. 25, the Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA) will celebrate black history at the Brazos Valley African American Museum. The event, titled:“Breaking Bread,” will begin at 5:30 p.m. The BGSA is committed to the identification, development, recruitment and achievement of black graduate students at A&M.
Afro-Latinx and Politics MSC CAMAC: A Latinx Programming Committee and MSC Carter G. Woodson Black Awareness Committee (WBAC) are collaborating on Feb. 21 to present a discussion about Afro-Latinx identity and politics in the age of Black Lives Matter. The event will be held in room 2400 of the Memorial Student Center at 7 p.m.
For more information about Black History Month at A&M, visit tamubhm.com
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President Trump honored Preston Sharp (second from left) during the State of the Union Address for his work with the Flag and Flower Challenge.
Big talk about bipartisanship Local experts examine Trump’s first State of the Union Address Tuesday By Megan Rodriguez @MeganLRodriguez President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address Tuesday night, laying out his legislative agenda and ideas for the upcoming year. Kirby Goidel, professor in the Department of Communication and director of Public Policy Research Institute at Texas A&M, and congressional members shared their thoughts on the night’s address. According to Goidel, people must understand the context and the president’s intentions in order to fully evaluate a State of the Union address. He said one of the most notable considerations to take into account is the fact that Trump has a low approval rating, despite the fact that the economy is doing well. In addition to this, the midterm elections are approaching, which will lead to a reduction in power as the Republican party loses seats, giving Trump a reason to make strides toward bipartisan collaboration, according to Goidel. “With that sort of backdrop, I think what he did with his speech was first, really emphasized the economy and took credit for it,” Goidel said. “A lot of his policy then was aimed at addressing some of the larger issues, including immigration and infrastructure, where there really is possibility for Republicans and Democrats to work together and achieve some meaningful policy initiatives.” The nation’s success was highlighted in the State of the Union address, according to an official comment by Republican Bill Flores, United States Representative for Texas’s 17th congressional district. “President Trump articulated how our nation is growing stronger and more secure with unlimited potential for greater opportunity for hardworking Americans,” Flores said. “Lower taxes through bold tax reform, relief from regulatory headwinds and promoting energy
dominance policies have set the stage for vibrant economic growth.” However, Massachusetts Democratic representative Joe Kennedy said Trump’s economic growth is no means for celebration. “We see an economy that makes stocks soar, investor portfolios bulge and corporate profits climb, but fails to give workers their fair share of the reward,” Kennedy said. Trump displayed professionalism that is not always apparent in his speeches, which Goidel said is good but not necessarily worthy of praise. “[Trump] didn’t go off the rails very often, he didn’t ad-lib a whole lot and so it looked more like what we would expect from a president and presidential behavior, so I think he’s getting some good marks for that,” Goidel said. “I’m not sure those are entirely deserved, I mean the expectation is that when you watch Trump talk anything can happen, so when he stays to script it’s sort of like ‘Wow. He did what he was supposed to do.’” The address focused heavily on the importance of infrastructure, a necessary item on the agenda according to Flores. “Working to improve our nation’s infrastructure will help grow economic productivity, opportunity and national security,” Flores said. “I look forward to continuing to work with the president and my colleagues in Congress to improve liberty, opportunity and security for all Americans.” While Trump’s neglect to mention the country’s deficit was surprising, Goidel said Trump’s speech ultimately fulfilled the goals he set out to accomplish, despite some possible disagreement from the Republican party. “Overall, I thought he did pretty much what he set out to do,” Goidel said. “The bipartisanship is trickier than taking credit for the economy. There was the one point where he mentioned paid family leave and Paul Ryan didn’t really clap, didn’t really stand up. So there are some issues [Trump] is willing to reach out to Democrats, but it’s not clear that his party is willing to create bipartisan compromise.”
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